Mourinho makes Perisic admission as Man Utd hopes disappear

United had made the Croatia international one of their top targets of the summer, but after a lengthy chase, it seems the former Wolfsburg man looks set to stay at the San Siro and sign a bumper new contract.

United had one offer, believed to be £35million, rejected by Inter for the 28-year-old and were determined to hold out for their £48million valuation.

However, United never upped their bid and despite plenty of conjecture surrounding the potential deal, Mourinho has now accepted he won’t be bringing the player to Old Trafford.

“That’s football,” Mourinho said when asked why United had failed to capture the winger.

“If I was playing against Inter tomorrow I’d want to win.

“They’re strong, they put up a good defence to keep someone who’s an important player for them. That’s football.”

United have signed Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic so far this summer, and it seems they are now ready to move on to other targets after the failure to land Perisic.